the peasants revolted and stopped paying taxes, he advanced with his troops in vessels like sip and palwar along the Madhumati towards the south. In the battle of Rampal, he defeated the rebels and annexed the parganas of Churulia and Madhudiya. Sitaram's kingdom extended from the northern banks of Padma to the Bay of Bengal in the south. The kingdom constituted of two distinct regions – the densely populated urban settlements to the north of the Bhairab River and the sparsely populated agricultural estates to the south of the Bhairab. The northern portion extended from Pabna in the north to Bhairab in the south and from Mahmudshahi pargana in the west to Telihati pargana in the east. The southern portion extended from Bhairab in the north to Bay of Bengal in the south, and from river Pashar in the west to Barisal in the east. The kingdom consisted of 44 parganas and its annual revenue amount to more than ten million. Conflict with the Mughals When Azim-us-Shan became the subahdar of Bengal, he made his close relative Mir Abu Torap the faujdar of Bhusna. Although his primary duty was to keep Sitaram under check, he unleashed a reign of terror upon arriving at Bhusna. He forced the tax defaulters to convert to Islam. When Sitaram learned of such punitive measures, he resolved not to pay a penny to the Mughal treasury. Abu Torap sent a contemptful reminder explaining to him the consequences. Abu Torap, however, did not have a warm relation with Murshid Quli Khan, the Diwan of Bengal, and Sitaram knew that well. Azim-us-Shan, the subahdar was away in Delhi. His son Farrukhsiyar the acting governor was more interested in the developments at Delhi than the affairs of Bengal. The capital of the province was relocated from Dhaka to Patna, so it was difficult for Abu Torap to get any direct support either from the Diwan or the Subahdar. Therefore, he decided to act on his own. Abu Torap was only a faujdar and, therefore, he had limited resources at his disposal. Whenever he sent his forces to subdue Sitaram, they were confronted with the archers and soldiers who manned the borders of Sitaram's kingdom. In 1713, Murshid Quli Khan became the subahdar of Bengal and Abu Torap approached him for help, which he ignored. Abu Torap sent his troops once again, but Sitaram opted for guerrilla tactics and